1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scanning microscope that relies upon the theory of confocal technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Scanning microscopes operating on the theory of confocal technology have been available. A scanning microscope has both an objective lens and a pinhole. When a sample is at the focal position of the objective lens, laser light passing through the pinhole is received by a first light-receiving element and only the image (confocal image) of an area at the height to be viewed is clearly visible (has high resolution). The thus produced confocal image is black-and-white (achromatic). The black-and-white image contains only limited information (is devoid of information on the color of the sample) and often involves difficulty in obtaining the sample""s details, such as the identity of surface flaws and deposits. To deal with this difficulty, color (achromatic) scanning microscopes have been proposed and used in the art.
A related color scanning microscope is designed to scan the surface of a sample with laser light of three primary colors from three light sources, thereby increasing the complexity of the optics in the microscope, making it costly and bulky.
An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a color scanning microscope of smaller size and lower cost.
To attain the stated object, the present invention produces color picture signals on the basis of both the luminance information from a first light-receiving element in first optics using laser light and the color information from a second light-receiving element in second optics using color information providing illumination light.
In the present invention, the luminance information from the first optics using laser light helps provide higher resolution than a simple magnified image using white light. Additionally, the color information from the second light-receiving element provides a color picture that enables the viewing of a sample""s details, such as surface flaws and deposits.
If the laser light converging in the present invention forms a tiny spot, it is scanned relatively across the surface of the sample in a two-dimensional manner. If the converging laser light is linear (a line of laser light), it is scanned relatively across the surface of the sample in a generally perpendicular direction. The expression xe2x80x9cscanned relatively across the surface of the samplexe2x80x9d shall cover at least the following three cases: the sample is at rest while the laser light or the line of laser light is scanning; the sample is moved rather than the laser light or the line of laser light during scanning; and the laser light is scanned in the X-direction while the sample is moved in the Y-direction (perpendicular to the X-direction).
In the present invention, xe2x80x9ccolor picture signalsxe2x80x9d are those signals which, either on their own or after being processed appropriately, can produce color pictures. They include picture signals indicating the intensities of three primary colors of light (red, green and blue), signals comprising both luminance and color difference signals, and composite color picture signals containing horizontal sync signals and color burst signals. The term xe2x80x9cluminance informationxe2x80x9d means information about luminance that does not contain colors, and the term xe2x80x9ccolor informationxe2x80x9d means information, as in color difference signals, that indicates the balance between color intensities.
The expression xe2x80x9con the basis of the luminance information from the first light-receiving element and the color information from the second light-receiving elementxe2x80x9d means that color picture signals are produced in one of the following cases.
In the first case, color picture signals contain both the luminance information from the first light-receiving element and the color information in the color imaging information from the second light-receiving element. The term xe2x80x9ccolor imaging informationxe2x80x9d means the information obtained by imaging which contains both the xe2x80x9cluminance informationxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccolor informationxe2x80x9d.
In the second case, color picture signals contain both the corrected luminance signal based on the luminance information from the first light-receiving element and the color information in the color imaging information from the second light-receiving element.
In the third case, color picture signals contain both the luminance information from the first light-receiving element and the corrected color information based on the color information in the color imaging information from the second light-receiving element.
In the fourth case, color picture signals contain both the corrected luminance information and corrected color information.
The entire disclosure of each and every foreign patent application from which the benefit of foreign priority has been claimed in the present application is incorporated herein by reference, as if fully set forth.